FRAMINGHAM - A retired Newton police officer was drunk Friday when his car crashed into a utility pole and stone wall on Waveney Road and drove away as the car caught fire, a prosecutor said Monday in Framingham District Court.

James Kennedy, 58, of Framingham, blew a .12 on a Breathalyzer test after his 2:45 p.m. arrest on Friday, .04 over the legal limit, prosecutor Jennifer Thompson said during his arraignment.

On Friday, police went to Pleasant Street just over the Southborough line for a report of a car fire and found Kennedy standing next to a Chrysler sedan that was smoking and had considerable front-end damage, the prosecutor said.

"The officers recognized Mr. Kennedy because they have had many interactions with him," Thompson said.

According to a report filed in court by Framingham Police, Kennedy has been taken into protective custody or taken to the hospital because he was highly intoxicated 10 times since April.

A man who lives on Waveney Road said he saw Kennedy slam the car into his stone wall, then back out and drive away. The Waveney Road man followed Kennedy to where the car stopped running and appeared to catch fire, Thompson said. Several other drivers told Kennedy to get out of the car and he didn't, so they had to help pull him out.

Kennedy agreed to perform field sobriety tests, but because of his "high level of intoxication," officers did not think it was safe. Kennedy took a portable breath test and blew a .15. Portable breath tests aren't admissible in court, but Kennedy later took an official Breathalyzer test.

While police were investigating the crash, another witness told police Kennedy's car was already heavily damaged before it crashed into the wall. Officers followed a trail of car parts and fuel to a utility pole on nearby Ledgewood Road.

"They found a piece of his undercarriage there," Thompson said.

Police charged Kennedy, of 9 Currier Drive, with driving under the influence of liquor, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, driving to endanger, vandalizing property and they cited him for a marked lanes violation.

He said Kennedy was a retired police officer and has no record. He said Kennedy had no reason not to come back to court.

"He's never been in trouble before," said Holt. "This is a case that will likely be resolved in one or two court appearances."

Cunis said he was concerned about releasing Kennedy because of his behavior in the courthouse. Kennedy was not cooperative and yelled at probation department employees who tried to interview him to see if he qualified for a lawyer.

Page 2 of 2 - "I think if I let him out of here, I'm not sure if we'll see him again," Cunis said.

Cunis ordered Kennedy held on $1,000 bail. If he posts the bail, Cunis banned him from driving, ordered him not to drink and to undergo random screening for alcohol.

Kennedy is due back in court on Aug. 22 for a pretrial conference.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date crime news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW.